Georgia Bulldogs: Jalen Fields

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia’s 2010 football recruiting class has suffered further attrition now that outside linebacker Dexter Morant left the team.

UGA sports information director Claude Felton confirmed on Monday morning that Morant has “left the university due to academic considerations.”

Morant is officially the eighth member of Georgia’s 19-man 2010 signing class -- joining tailback Ken Malcome, safety Jakar Hamilton, cornerback Derek Owens, linebacker Demetre Baker, offensive lineman Brent Benedict, defensive end Jalen Fields and receiver Lonnie Outlaw -- who either failed to qualify academically, transferred or who has been dismissed outright. Meanwhile, offensive lineman Kolton Houston has yet to play in a game and linebacker Brandon Burrows made a limited college debut just last fall.

ESPN rated Morant as a three-star prospect and the nation’s No. 75 defensive end when he signed with the Bulldogs. However, he was frequently set back by injuries at Georgia and never actually appeared in a game in three seasons.

Morant quit the team minutes before his first practice in 2010, with Coach Mark Richt reporting that he “just felt like he lost the desire to play.” He returned to the team four days later.

As a rising senior in the 2010 class, defensive end Jalen Fields (Dalton, Ga./Dalton) earned several offers after making 10 sacks in just his second year of playing defense. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound prospect was raw, yet full of potential. When he failed to qualify to play for the Georgia Bulldogs, Fields enrolled at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Ga. After two seasons of playing marginal minutes for the Bulldogs, Fields does not know where he will be playing in 2012, but he knows it will not be at Georgia.

“As of right now I really don't have an idea of where I want to go, but I am just going to take it slow and take more visits this time like I should have two years ago,” Fields said.

Fields was credited with 24 tackles and four sacks during his time at GMC, and admits that he has progressed the way he should have coming out of high school.

The roller coaster that has been linebacker Kent Turene’s recruitment appears to finally be done, with the former USC commitment and UGA signee set to enroll next month. But Turene (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Boyd Anderson) will not be enrolling in Athens.

After he committed to the Trojans the summer before his senior year, Turene was continually pursued by Georgia, which secured a last-minute switch from the four-star prospect on signing day. He was part of a heralded recruiting class known as the Dream Team, but his arrival in Athens would be delayed.

When the freshmen arrived on campus last June, Turene was not among them. The NCAA Clearinghouse flagged his test score and questioned a couple of online classes he took while at Boyd Anderson. Turene enrolled at Atlanta Sports Academy, a prep school in Dawsonville, Ga., with the hopes that he would gain the test score needed to enroll in Athens as part of the 2012 class. Turene got the test score, but the clearinghouse would not give him the green light to join the Georgia football team. So he waited.

Coming into the season, the Bulldogs had two commitments from the Georgia Military College in defensive end Jalen Fields and wide receiver Lonnie Outlaw. The Georgia coaches were also hot on the trail of linebacker Shannon Brown, who had recently transferred to GMC from East Mississippi Community College. The Bulldogs appeared poised to repeat their success of 2007 -- when defensive linemen Jarius Wynn, Corvey Irvin and offensive lineman Vince Vance all ended up in Athens -- but that will not be the case in 2012. Fields and Outlaw were initially projected to enroll in December in Athens, but word came today from Georgia Military College head coach Bert Williams that one of them is not headed to Georgia.

“Lonnie Outlaw will not attend UGA but will pursue other scholarship opportunities,” Williams said.

Coach Williams said there has been no official change in Fields’ status, but he did acknowledge that Fields would not be a December graduate. Fields’ spot could be filled by others on signing day, as the Bulldogs already have two committed defensive linemen.

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